Tim Hardaway Jr. Brings a Familiar Face to a New Day for the Knicks

Tim Hardaway Jr. at a summer camp at Baruch College on Monday. When the Knicks expressed interest, “I was very, very happy,” he said.Credit
Louis Lanzano for The New York Times

When the Knicks traded Tim Hardaway Jr. two summers ago, it was the end of an unremarkable two-year tenure. Hardaway, a former first-round pick, had fallen out of favor with Phil Jackson, the Knicks’ new president, and his performance had been rocky during his first season under new leadership. The general manager who had drafted him, Glen Grunwald, was gone, and soon after that, so was Hardaway.

Yet after Jackson and the Knicks parted ways two weeks ago, Hardaway began to think a reunion might be possible. In two days, he would become a restricted free agent — ready to hit the market after rehabilitating his reputation and improving his game during two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Still, if a return was to happen, Hardaway thought, it would be further off, once all the tracks of his exit had been scrubbed away.